Read Tsatsu Tsikata's message to NDC on complacency in governance

Renowned legal practitioner Tsatsu Tsikata has cautioned government appointees against measuring success in governance by marginal improvement over previous administrations.

He warned that such an approach breeds complacency and weak leadership.

Speaking at the ceremony to rename the NDC's national headquarters on June 22, 2026, he stated that public service must not be reduced to comparison politics, where officials are satisfied simply because they perform “a little better” than those before them.

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Instead, he said governance must be driven by higher expectations and a continuous push for excellence.

“There is a danger, especially after what the country went through in the disastrous 2017 to 2024 period, under then President Akufu-Addo and his Vice President Bawumia.

"There is a danger that we lower the bar of what the nation expects of us in the NDC and that we aim to be just a little better than the previous government," he stated.

Tsikata further warned that this mindset risks becoming the default approach for appointees, who may limit their ambitions to outperforming predecessors by small margins rather than pursuing meaningful transformation.

"Appointees would only seek to compare themselves to their predecessors and, by that measure, be content with some improvements in performance and therefore become complacent," he said.

He urged the NDC to use its legacy commemoration as a moment of reflection on its future direction, messaging, and long-term value proposition to Ghana and beyond.

Tsikata emphasised that leadership must be anchored on identifying and building capability wherever it exists, rather than settling for minimal gains.

“To identify capabilities wherever they came from. I want to insist from the onset that the NDC must use this commemoration to reflect on its future, its message, and its value proposition to the world at large, now and into the distant future,” he added.

Tsikata indicated that lowering expectations in governance would ultimately undermine public trust and fail to meet the aspirations of Ghanaians.

JKB/VPO

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